President’s Volunteer Service Award (PVSA) Information

We are happy to announce that the Global Volunteer Recognition Program LLC is a Certifying Organization for the President’s Volunteer Service Award!!

To be eligible, members must be an active member of the Global Volunteer Recognition Program LLC. Additionally, the award year must align with the corresponding year of membership. For instance, to certify volunteer hours in 2023, a 2023 membership is mandatory; likewise, to certify hours for 2024, a 2024 membership is necessary, and so forth. Volunteer hours are certified based on a full calendar year, starting January 1st and ending December 31st of each year. However, it's worth noting that the Lifetime Achievement Award can be earned in any year of membership.

Important Update Regarding the Presidential Volunteer Service Award (PVSA)

We want to inform our members that the Presidential Volunteer Service Award is currently on a temporary pause. Please remember that the Global Volunteer Recognition Program is a Certifying Organization only — we are not the issuing organization of the PVSA and have no control over national-level interruptions or changes.

That said, it’s important that members continue to log their volunteer hours as usual. Deadlines for the program will be adjusted accordingly once we receive confirmation that the PVSA system is live again. This will ensure all of your efforts can still be counted and recognized once normal operations resume.

Please note that membership fees will not be refunded due to this temporary pause. Membership covers shipping, welcome kits, and pays the staff who keep our program running year-round.

We are closely monitoring the situation and will provide updates as soon as we receive more information. For official updates, please visit: https://presidentialserviceawards.gov/

Thank you for your understanding, continued support, and dedication to volunteerism.

Deadline

The next certification period will be - TBD

Please submit your hours by TBD. Missing the deadline may result in a mid-year order if there is sufficient participation. Hours can be retroactively certified up to two years (730 days) back; for example, hours from 2023 can be certified until 2025.

After the hours have been certified we will place a group order for all award packages. Based on previous orders we anticipate that we should have the award packages shipped out 1 to 2 months after certification by our Board. There can sometimes be long delays based on supply and demand through Points of Light.

Volunteer Eligibility

United States citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States (i.e., green card holder)
Must be at least five years old
Completes eligible service within a 12-month period (for annual Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards) and over a lifetime (for Lifetime Achievement Awards)
Hours are measured from January 1st to December 31st of each year. The award year must align with the corresponding year of your membership. For certification of volunteer hours in 2023, a 2023 membership is necessary; likewise, certification for 2024 hours requires a 2024 membership, and so forth.

How To Apply

Please use this template to track your volunteer hours.

To create an editable copy of a Google Sheet

Open the Google Sheets file that you want to copy
Click "File" on the top toolbar menu
Click "Make a copy"
Choose a name for the copied document
Click "OK".

Please fill out this form to submit your application for the President's Volunteer Service Award after hours have been completed. You will receive an email after your hours have been verified during our certification periods with details about the President’s Volunteer Service Award.

Eligible Service:

Unpaid acts of volunteer service benefitting others
- Service through National service programs that provide a stipend (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) may count towards the Lifetime Achievement Award, but not for the annual Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards)
- Travel stipends, transit/parking passes, membership passes, expense reimbursements, and other nominal volunteer support do not impact service eligibility

Eligible Service does not include:

Donating funds
Political lobbying (Non-partisan voter registration is an eligible activity)
Religious instruction
Conducting worship service
Proselytizing
Volunteer service performed as part of court-ordered community service
Serving only family members

Can Global Volunteer Recognition Program certify hours from any organization?

Yes. We can certify hours from any United States based organization.

How are hours certified?

We have a board that reviews the hours to make sure that the hours submitted follow the guidelines set by Points of Light.

I had a birthday this year? How do I determine my award Age Group?

The age category is determined by the age the person was for at least 7 months within the 12-month calendar year.  For example, if the person was 16 for 7 months within the year in question, that person would qualify within the 16-25 age group.

Hours Required to Earn Awards in Each Age Group
Age Group	Bronze	Silver	Gold	Lifetime Achievement Award
Kids (5–10 years old)	26–49 hours	50–74 hours	75+ hours	4,000+ hours
Teens (11–15)	50–74 hours	75–99 hours	100+ hours	4,000+ hours
Young Adults (16–25)	100–174 hours	175–249 hours	250+ hours	4,000+ hours
Adults (26+)	100–249 hours	250–499 hours	500+ hours	4,000+ hours